Baby Spitting Up Clear Liquid? Causes and When to Call the Doctor

So clear liquid is part of the package deal. But what is it and why does it happen? Several things could be at play here: saliva, spit-up from breast milk or formula, mucus, or even a combination of these. Let’s take a closer look.

Spit-up

Babies under a year old spit up — for some it’s often and a lot. Usually, spit-up is simply part and parcel of their maturing digestive system.

Your baby may do you the kindness of burping before they spit up. So listen up and stay prepared with burp cloth in hand.

After a burp, you may see a lot of spit up or simply a white, milky drool. Sometimes the spit up or drool could be clear. Sometimes this is just partially digested formula or breast milk combined with saliva.

Whether it is white or clear, a little spit-up or drool after a feed is normal.

Vomiting

Your baby has a ton of learning to do. Including learning not to gulp down milk too quickly, not to eat more than their tummy can hold in one sitting, and how to digest food.

During the first months, while they’re still learning, your baby may vomit. Here’s how you spot the difference between vomit and spit-up:

• Vomit shoots out when the muscles around the stomach contract forcefully to push out the contents.
• Vomit will probably have some clear stomach juices mixed into it. It may also look like curdled milk or miniature lumps of cottage cheese.

Unless the vomiting is happening frequently or accompanied by other symptoms, like a fever, it may just be part of the learning process. Yes, you’ll get used to this part of parenting too.

Teething

Your baby will probably cut their first teeth between 4 and 7 months old. While this milestone is a cause to celebrate, it may not be painless. Teething can sometimes cause discomfort and even pain.

Drooling plenty of clear saliva is your baby’s way of coping. Sometimes they may even spit up some excess drool.

You can help ease your baby’s discomfort by rubbing the sore gums with your finger or giving them a cool teething ring to bite on. You can also use bibs to help catch some excess saliva as it drips off their chin.

But there’s not much you can do to stop the excess drool, even if it makes them spit up — just know that it’s a temporary phase.

On the other hand, if the spit-up turns to vomit, it’s not just teething. You should consider whether your little one has other symptoms and consult with your doctor.

Illness

Babies and children get sick more often than adults because their immune system is developing. From about 6 months old, when the immunity you gave to your baby starts to fade, your little one will have to start building up their own immune system.

Heads up: This developing immune system means your baby may start to get colds. Since your baby hasn’t yet learned to blow their nose or cough up mucus, they’ll be swallowing a lot of the mucus, which might cause vomiting. This mucus can come up as a clear or cloudy liquid when they vomit.

If your baby is vomiting and has fever and diarrhea, you may notice that the vomit is clear. This happens when nothing is left in the stomach to throw up except for clear stomach secretions.

Speak with your pediatrician if your baby exhibits these symptoms to be sure that your little one gets the appropriate care.

A fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher in a baby who’s under 2 or 3 months old also warrants a call to the doctor. You should also call your doctor if your older baby, between 3 and 6 months, has a fever of 101°F (38.3°C) or higher.

No matter their age, a fever that persists for more than 5 days warrants a call to the doctor and likely a visit.

Reflux

Your doctor will call it gastroesophageal reflux (GER). Reflux happens when your baby regurgitates food from their stomach and spits up. More than two-thirds of babies will have reflux that causes spitting up as often as a few times a day.

As long as your baby is happy and gaining weight, GER isn’t a cause for concern. Typically, it peaks at 4 months of age and by the time your baby is a year old, chances are it will probably be a bad memory.

In rare cases, GER can signal something more serious like an allergy, a blockage in the digestive system, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Yes that D makes all the difference.

With GERD, your baby may vomit, refuse to eat, not gain weight, and let you know he’s unhappy by crying. Your doctor may advise you to feed your baby smaller meals more frequently and to change formula or to cut out dairy if you’re breastfeeding. Sometimes medication or surgery will be needed.

Pyloric stenosis

This rare condition is named after the pyloric sphincter muscle that sits at the outlet to the stomach and it affects well under 1 percent of infants in the United States (more boys than girls).

Babies with this condition have a pyloric sphincter muscle that is thickened and narrow (stenosis). The narrowed pyloric channel restricts food in the stomach from entering the small intestine.

The stomach reacts by contracting vigorously to force the food through, but because the channel is so narrow, the food is vomited up with tremendous force. This projectile vomiting can reach several feet away!

You’ll see clear fluid or curdled milk. As the channel narrows more and more, projectile vomiting becomes more frequent. Despite the vomiting, your baby still feels hungry and will want to eat again… and again.

If your little one is affected, you’ll start to notice this type of vomiting when your baby is 2 to 3 weeks old, but it can start as late as 6 weeks old. Without nourishment, your baby can become dehydrated, weak, and lose weight.

Although pyloric stenosis is a serious condition, it can be easily righted with surgery. If you suspect this is the issue you should call the doctor right away to discuss your baby’s symptoms.

When they’re spitting up lots of clear liquid you may think that your baby needs water to avoid dehydration. However, you shouldn’t give water to babies under 6 months of age.

Drinking plenty of water every day may be good for you, but it definitely isn’t good for your baby. That’s because babies have tiny tummies (about the size of a walnut in the first week) and their kidneys are still developing.

If you fill your baby’s tummy with water, their hunger mechanism is dulled, and they may not get the nutrients they need. In addition, if your baby’s water intake is too high, there’s a risk of water intoxication.

Sounds far-fetched? Not really when you consider the size of that tiny tummy. Too much water will lower the concentration of electrolytes such as sodium in the blood. So hold the water until your baby is about 6 months old and stick to formula or breast milk.

Your medical team is there to help you with concerns as your child grows. Don’t hesitate to contact them to discuss any issues.

While much of the mess around spit-ups can be easily handled (with a rag and some patience), if you see that your baby has fever, seems listless, is dehydrated, or doesn’t appear to be putting on weight, contact your doctor.

When you’re wiping away another spit-up, you may be tempted to throw in that towel. But hold on… one day soon your baby’s digestive system will be working smoothly and the two of you will be ready to move on to the next stage of child rearing.

Help! Why Is My Baby Spitting up Clear Liquid!

• Spitting up is very common for young children under 12 months of age.
• Spitting up is rarely a sign of a medical emergency.
• Most children will outgrow spitting up by 12 months.
• Spitting up clear liquid is rarely something to be worried about.
• Feeding less and keeping the baby upright are easy ways to limit spitting up.

If you’re new to parenting, it’s not entirely shocking how messy babies can sometimes get. My three kids have offered us more surprises from both ends than I care to think about.

During my time working as an RN, I’ve seen many children come to the hospital for spitting up and vomiting. Most of these kids turned out to be okay.

More often than not, something like spitting up isn’t a big deal. Your baby may spit up a little after feeding, for example, but all is well. There are other times when babies experience something more like vomiting. When we get concerned about kids in these scenarios, there is often more to the story, like a fever.

At some point you may have asked yourself, why is my baby spitting up clear liquid? Knowing some basic information may help put your mind at ease.

Baby Spit Up vs Vomit: How to Tell the Difference

Spitting up and vomiting can seem similar if you’re unfamiliar with the topic. Some people may consider these the same thing, but they’re not. The difference between spitting up and vomiting comes down to how much effort your baby’s body is putting into what’s happening. Spitting up for many young kids just happens; vomiting has a purpose. 

Spitting Up in Babies

Spitting up comes from the passive movement of what’s in the baby’s stomach back up the tube that connects the stomach to the mouth. It then comes out of the mouth or nose where we can see it.

By passive movement, we mean it happens without the body trying to do it. The body isn’t trying to get anything out. Because of something like the baby’s position or maybe a burp, food comes up.

It may make more sense if we relate it to something we sometimes experience as adults. Have you ever burped, maybe a little too aggressively, and suddenly you taste… well, you know. The classic Vurp—an unpleasant experience paired well with the strange look on our faces as it takes us by surprise.

In this case, what we experience as adults is pretty close to what babies experience when they spit up. Nothing is wrong with us, and our body isn’t trying to empty our stomachs. When a baby spits up, it is very likely there is nothing wrong with the baby either.

Babies most often spit up because the muscles of a baby’s digestive system still need time to mature and become stronger.

The lower esophageal sphincter sits at the top of the stomach and acts like a gatekeeper. It tries to keep everything moving in the right direction. Sometimes that sphincter is not strong enough, and it lets things come up, causing the baby to spit up.

This situation of food coming up and out of the baby’s stomach into the esophagus is common. It’s even got a name: gastroesophageal reflux. It may also be referred to as infant reflux or infant acid reflux.

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is when food contents travel up from the stomach to the mouth and nose. This is how the National Institutes for Health defines GER.

This may sound familiar to what we know as adults when we hear about gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This is a more chronic, longer-lasting problem leading to more complications.

It is important to know that gastroesophageal reflux is not the same thing as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).      

Vomiting in Babies

Vomiting is a much more forceful movement of food from the stomach up and out of the body. Think of it as the baby’s body trying to get whatever is in the stomach out quickly.

Maybe the baby has some type of illness, or maybe there is something wrong with what they ate. The body recognizes this and wants whatever is in there out ASAP.

Because vomiting is happening with more force, things are going to look different than if the baby spits up. For example:

• There is likely going to be more coming out compared to if the baby spits up.
• Whatever comes out is likely going to travel farther up and out of the baby’s mouth.
• When vomiting, there will be more obvious body movements like muscle contractions.
• The baby will likely appear uncomfortable, maybe crying or needing to be consoled.

When vomiting, there are often other symptoms that you may notice. These symptoms could include fever, changes in the baby’s stools, not wanting to feed, or they may seem more sleepy than normal. These other symptoms can occur from whatever illness or condition is causing the vomiting or not being able to keep down food. 

Frequent vomiting can cause dehydration in young children. If this happens you should seek immediate medical attention.

Is It Normal for Babies to Spit Up Clear Liquid? 

Generally speaking, spitting up is very common for young children and is not likely a sign that anything is wrong with your baby. Spitting up clear liquid is also often normal and not likely something you should be worried about.

If your baby is spitting up clear liquid, that means what they are spitting up does not likely contain food or anything of any nutritional value. This is great because it means they’re not losing anything that they really need.

Will My Baby Outgrow Spitting Up?

Yes, according to the Mayo Clinic it is very likely that your baby will outgrow spitting up by about 12 months old. Spitting up is caused by muscles that haven’t fully developed and allow food to move from the stomach back up to the nose and mouth.

As your baby gets older, the muscles of the stomach and the esophagus muscles will strengthen. This will keep everything in the stomach where it should be.

Common Reasons Why Babies Spit Up Clear Liquid

Spitting up clear fluid is good in a way because it means there isn’t much food in what’s coming out. Some of the reasons babies spit up clear fluid are related to things familiar to many of us.

Teething and Drooling

Many babies drool, some much more than others. Drooling can become even more noticeable when teething, for example, as the number of daily wardrobe changes skyrockets from so much more saliva. Excess saliva that doesn’t come out of their mouth onto whatever happens to catch it gets swallowed.

When babies swallow a large amount of saliva from their mouth, it can become noticeable when they spit it back up as a clear liquid.

Illness and Congestion

Babies have an immature immune system. This can put them at risk for things like viruses that can cause respiratory illnesses. Some of these illnesses can come with cold-like symptoms causing congestion and secretions in their noses.

Similar to the buildup of saliva that babies can swallow when teething, they’re also not very good at doing anything else with the secretions in their noses. They often end up swallowing that too.

Secretions from the nose and mouth are swallowed, ending up in the stomach. As we just learned when babies spit up, the stomach’s contents are allowed to travel out of their stomach and back up into their mouths.

When saliva or other secretions that were swallowed are allowed to come back up it may look like they’re spitting up clear liquid.

When to Worry About Your Baby Spitting Up Clear Liquids

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about how spitting up clear liquids is only sometimes something to be concerned about. However, some conditions require immediate medical attention.

Pyloric stenosis is a problem that can cause a baby to spit up or vomit. It will not correct itself on its own and is not something your baby can grow out of.

Pyloric stenosis is when the opening from the stomach to the intestines is too narrow to let food pass by. When the contents of the stomach build up too much it comes right back out.

More reasons to seek immediate medical attention when your baby spits up:

• The fluid changes from clear to yellow or green.
• Your baby doesn’t seem to want to eat.
• There are signs your baby may be dehydrated like less wet diapers.
• Your baby seems like they’re not gaining weight, or losing weight.
• There are other signs of illness like fever.
• There is blood in what they’re spitting up.
• Your baby seems hard to console. 

Tips to Help Prevent Your Baby From Spitting Up

As you probably noticed by now, spitting up for babies most often isn’t such a big deal. It can however be unpleasant for all those involved and is worth trying to limit. This can be done through some basic changes in your routine.

Don’t Overfeed

If your baby seems to spit up a lot after feeding try to feed smaller amounts. Babies have very small stomachs and it could be that they’re taking in too much milk.

As their stomach fills up the pressure builds. With weaker muscles to keep everything down, feeding less can possibly limit how much they will spit up.

Burp More

While babies are feeding they are also sometimes taking in air. The air they swallow can take up some valuable space in the stomach and adds to the build-up of pressure. The pressure can cause them to spit up.

Burping more often while feeding can relieve some of the pressure making them less likely to spit up.

Upright Position

Feed the baby in a more upright position and keep them upright for about 30 minutes after feeding. This will also reduce the pressure on a full stomach.

Pause the Playtime

I’m pretty sure none of us would want to be bounced around with a full belly. Limiting the activity after feeding will help keep everything in the stomach where it should be.

Back to Sleep

Putting the baby on their back to sleep may help them spit up less by also reducing the pressure on their stomach. Sleeping on their back is also a key recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Change Your Diet

For breastfeeding mothers, some dietary characteristics can end up influencing their breast milk. If you find your baby spitting up often, consider the idea that it may be something in your breast milk that isn’t sitting well with the baby.

The information WonderBaby provides is not intended to be, and does not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. Always consult with a qualified medical professional about your specific circumstances.

“Why does a one and a half month old baby who eats mixed food spit up food after 3

2021

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ReplySpecify Anna Nerovnykh

Medicine

63

Pediatrician; lactation consultant; Mom of two children May 15, 2021

Regurgitation (regurgitation) is an involuntary reflux of food eaten from the stomach into the esophagus and oral cavity, in which the diaphragm and muscles of the anterior abdominal wall do not contract, as with vomiting.

Approximately up to a year of regurgitation in infants – a physiological process that occurs due to anatomical and physiological features of the structure of the child’s digestive tract:

• the esophagus is short and narrow, has a funnel-shaped shape;
• Stomach positioned horizontally. When the child begins to walk, the stomach gradually changes its position to a vertical one, and by the age of 7-10 it is located vertically, as in adults.
• the stomach has a small volume;
• A feature of the stomach in children is the weak development of its fundus and cardiac sphincter against the background of a good development of the pyloric section. This contributes to frequent regurgitation in a child, especially when air enters the stomach during sucking.

The baby may spit up regardless of the type of feeding. And on breast, and on artificial, and on mixed feeding, regurgitation takes place. Normally, a baby can spit up after each feeding with a volume of 1-2 tablespoons.

The appearance of frequent regurgitation in large volumes can provoke:

The appearance of regurgitation in a child on mixed feeding a long time after feeding can be explained by the fact that the milk formula is digested for a long time, therefore, for the above reasons, for example, during active play and a sharp change in body position, the child may burp.

Sometimes there may be regurgitation of curdled milk. This also indicates that the food has been in the stomach for some time and fermented.

I note that regurgitation does not affect the well-being of the child, does not affect weight gain.

If regurgitation is accompanied by a violation of the general condition of the child, anxiety, poor weight gain or loss, blood impurities are visible in the regurgitation mass, this is a reason for an urgent visit to a doctor.

Elena Melnik

May 15, 2021

Thank you very much! Everything is clear and understandable!

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Kabrita

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Kabrita® – gentle nutrition based on wholesome goat milk from the Netherlands 24 Aug 2021 kabrita.com.ua

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Tatyana Kocheva

In a month and a half the child has not yet developed all the organs and systems involved in the assimilation and digestion of any food other than breast milk of his mother. He still does not produce enough enzymes involved in the digestion of the product, etc. Watch the frequency and volume of the child’s spitting up. Write down all data and discuss this problem with… Read more

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For children under the age of one year, regurgitation is a normal physiological process, which is associated with the anatomical features of the structure of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract of the newborn:
• Short and narrow funnel-shaped esophagus;
• Horizontal location of the stomach. This is one of the anatomical features of babies, which is typical for the first 7-9months… Read more

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